How to Adapt and Overcome
by xxShannondorf
Summary: Team 7 is sent to Kumogakure to retrieve their latest mission, the girl with the lightning mark, Rayne Sayomi. Targeted for various reasons, mainly the Akatsuki, she is brought to Konoha under their prolonged protection until further notice. But during a twist of events leading up to the Chunin Exams, Rayne ends up being the protector more than the protected.. OCxSasu Pairing.
1. A New Beginning

The brief glimpses of sun shone off a pair of light grey eyes. Strands of chestnut brown hair moved over the grey orbs swiftly as the figure hunched on the floor on its hands and knees suddenly shot upward.

"You know, I reaaaally don't see how cleaning the cracks of a hardwood floor with a friggin' tooth brush for forty five freakin' minutes can be considered stamina training you sack of diluted, expiring chakra!" the figure snapped.

The Raikage smirked as he calmly took a sip of tea, "You must endure a seemingly unimportant task and keep a level head in the process. While exerting physical pressure, your mental state needs to be relaxed so you can fully embrace…"

The tooth brush was caught between the Raikage's pointer and middle finger in mid-speech. He opened an eye to glare at the girl before him.

"I'm sure you've given me that speech, along with two hundred others old man." The girl sat back on her butt and reclined backward while staring up at the ceiling.

"You realize if you were anyone else I would have surely annihilated you for throwing this at me," the man said. He gripped onto the tooth brush with barely any force as a bolt of lightning incinerated it.

The girl barely turned her head to look at him, "This isn't much of a goodbye present 'ya know…"

The man frowned. "It isn't a goodbye…don't ever say goodbye…"

"Because goodbye means never coming back, and never coming back means letting go and forgetting what you've left behind," the two said in union.

"Even if I tried I wouldn't be able to forget you," the Raikage said with a warming smile.

"I'm not surprised…but I'm sorry to say that unlike me, you're pretty easy to forget old man," the girl spoke with a joking tone.

The Raikage chuckled. "Do as you will with your memory of me, but don't let all that I've taught you slip away. It will prove useful in your near future, Rayne."

Rayne looked down at the floor. "It's already proved useful…it's saved me more than once, A. You re-taught me what I've already been taught, but more efficiently." She turned her head to face him. "I walk in your footsteps, and will tread a new path in Konoha."

He suddenly stood up and slammed his fists down onto his desk, instantly creating a defined crack. Rayne's grey orbs instantly filled with excitement; she knew what was coming. The Raikage wiped a tear from his eye.

"You have made me so proud…one more time, just for the hell of it."

_'This is the A I know. Over excited and happy, yet stern and wise.'_

"You saying that you walk in my footsteps is true. You really have become extremely similar to me, Rayne."

"Frightening, isn't it?" The girl scoffed as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Raikage jumped from where he was standing, and moments after he did, Rayne came crashing up through the floor. She landed with her legs spread, one on each side of the hole she had just created, balancing herself over it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing up there?!"

Rayne shot a glance down at the Jounin beneath her, staring up with his mouth agape.

"Pervert! What the hell do you think you're doing looking up at my crotch!" Quickly and forcefully Rayne sent three shuriken down where the Jounin was standing. Very quickly, the man fled the scene. Rayne growled and looked back up to where the Raikage was standing, just in time to receive a clash of lightning to her face.

Before she knew it, Rayne opened her eyes to see the blinding sunlight.

"Curse the sun!" She wailed as she covered her eyes, free falling downward through numerous clouds. Upon realizing she was through the wall of the tower and plummeting to the ground, Rayne made the sudden attempt to fly by flapping her arms. It was to no avail. She crashed through a tree, and hung over a branch as if she were a sheet out on a line to dry.

Groaning, Rayne attempted to regain vision as she stared at the ground. High above her she could hear the deep laugh of the Raikage.

"Of all towers in this village he picks the highest one to live in," she mumbled.

"Ahahahahaha! Did anyone else see that?! Rayne! You may be powerful, but you're nowhere near strong enough to defeat me just yet! Hahaha!"

Rayne sighed as she allowed her body to fully relax on the branch. As much as it pissed her off, she had to admit that he was right. Rayne was indeed strong; strong enough to hold her own against Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, but she was nowhere near Kage level.

'_Isn't this weasel inside of me supposed to help when I'm in dange_r?' Rayne slumped even further on the branch. "Useless ferret…"

She sighed as she closed her eyes. Her mind drifted as the sunlight soaked into her skin. For the first time today, she was at peace. Today had been deemed the day Rayne would leave Kumogakure for Konohagakure. Why she was leaving exactly? The Raikage, A, had decided it would be the right decision to ensure her safety, while she subliminally acted as a political bridge between the two sore countries. Now that the Akatsuki knew where she was living, they needed to get her out of there.

"Whatever…" Rayne yawned as she spoke. "I'll get a little rest in before I head back…"

She stretched body forward…a little **too** forward. The weight of her body fell forward, causing her to flip forward off the branch, straight for the ground. As she was falling, she saw a group of people she was about to land on. A crash was heard, along with some coughing, and then some groans from Rayne as she opened her eyes to look at the sun through the cloud of dust.

"Ah! Hey! **You get off of Sasuke right now!**"

Where did that voice come from? Who knows. All Rayne could see was dust; lots and lots of dust and a ray or two of masked sunlight. There was sudden movement under her. Rayne rolled her body over, still on top of the form, and looked down as she supported herself on her hands.

"Hey…are you alright?" she asked cautiously.

"I'd be a lot better if you'd get off of me." What a blunt reply.

Before Rayne could say sorry, a huge gust of wind from the God's in the heavens blew the dust cloud concealing her away. She blinked as she felt a pair of angry eyes glaring at her. Looking up, she saw a pink haired shinobi…a very…angry…pink haired shinobi.

"**Why are you on top of Sasuke like that! Get off of him right now I said**!"

"My…Sasuke…" Rayne repeated these words to herself. Before she could ask anything, Rayne suddenly felt her back hit the ground. Since her back was sore from crashing through the Raikage's cement wall, she groaned in pain. A cold blade touched her neck.

"Who are you?" a cold voice asked.

Her grey eyes shot open and connected with a pair of onyx ones. The boy looked very suspicious of her. Hell, she had just landed on him from a tree, no wonder he probably thought of it as an attack. She couldn't really blame him, she would have thought the same. Suddenly she noticed his headband: Hidden Leaf shinobi. That could only mean one thing.

"You're here to see the Raikage, aren't you?"

He was taken aback. Why would she know this?

"Sasuke, cool down. There's no reason to cause a scene here. We are guests in this village, don't go threatening one of their own."

What a lax voice. Rayne arched her back and pressed the crown of her head to the ground so she could look behind her to see who had talked. A tall Jounnin with lopsided silver hair, a covered eye, and a mask on his face stood a few feet away.

The boy on top of Rayne sighed as he stood up and placed his kunai knife back into its proper place. He extended a hand, a light tint of pink on his face. "I…I'm…"

Rayne raised an eye brow as he choked on his words.

"Sorry." The word shot out of his half closed lips and was muttered as if he was too embarrassed to say them. Someone didn't like admitting when he was wrong. Nevertheless, Rayne's lips curled into a small smile as she grasped onto his hand. His palm was sweaty.

_'Charming._'She thought as her cool palm was smothered in perspiration. He pulled her forward to him, and there they stood, eye to eye, studying each other. Rayne's brows came together in frustration as she searched his dark orbs; there was nothing there.

A half heartedly silenced growl caught Rayne's attention and her head snapped in the direction of the source; it was the pink one again.

"Do you have some sort of problem?" Rayne asked.

"Yes, quite frankly, I **do** have a problem."

What a smart ass answer. Rayne grit her teeth together and growled deep in her throat at the girl. Who the hell did she think she was? Suddenly, it hit her, and her expression went calm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to land on your boyfriend!" Rayne bowed too quickly to see the reactions of the others. The girl's face color changed, instantly matching the color of her vibrant pink hair as she giggled. And the other boy who had been deemed Sasuke…he didn't seem too enthralled with Rayne's deduction. He twitched and blinked furiously.

"I apologize, but I believe that you misunderstand," the silver haired man said as he advanced. Rayne's head rose to witness the expression on the girl's face, but her head quickly turned back in the direction of the boy to her left when he grabbed her arm forcefully.

"I…am not…her boyfriend," he spat breathlessly, causing Rayne to sweat drop.

"Oh…eh heh heh…well, that's what it seemed like! How could I not come to that conclusion! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" With each "I'm sorry" Rayne bowed over and over again rapidly, creating enough wind to blow Sasuke's bangs out of his eyes.

She rose up again, only to begin to bow once more when Sasuke's hand steadied her shoulder so she couldn't move. "Enough."

Rayne blushed, obviously embarrassed, and couldn't help but say it once more. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Sasuke said with a stoic face. "It was nothing to apologize for." To this Rayne simply gave a half hearted smile.

_'What a first impression to make to my new team.'_ She thought. _'You're such a loser.'_

"Gah! Sasuke! Why do you always have to get the pretty girls?!"

A new voice. Sasuke's hand withdrew from Rayne's shoulder, allowing her to turn around. It was another boy, also a leaf shinobi, but his aura was **extremely** different than Sasuke's. He was like a fire cracker waiting to be lit. Rayne gaped at his blue eyes, and when he noticed that they had made eye contact, the boy blushed and turned his head to the side. When Rayne saw his cheeks, she instantly took note of the marks on them.

"Naruto, you're such an idiot. There's** no way** Sasuke would even be going after someone while we're on a mission! He's extremely concentrated and dedicated, unlike **you**. When there's something to be done, he does it, without complaining. When there's an opponent, he quickly strikes, and…"

"Blah blah blah blah blah," Rayne muttered as her lazy eyes glared at the pink haired girl. It was Sasuke this and Sasuke that. Talk about infatuation. Rayne looked at the "amazing" Sasuke she was "so lucky" to be standing next to.

"Looks like you have a fan."

He looked at her, his onyx eyes connecting with her grey ones once more. "You have **no** idea."

"You know…" Rayne pondered as her finger taped her chin. "I really don't think I want one."

A low scoff was heard from him as he turned his attention to the approaching ecstatic blond. Rayne's attention also turned to him. Again, the boy blushed.

"S-so…what's your name, huh?" He kicked the dirt beneath his sandals. By this time, the pink one had shut up. Nothing could be heard except the boy's heavy breathing. It was if the world had gone silent.

"Well, if you wouldn't mind, considering you are an alien to my village…would you tell me yours first?" Rayne asked with a warming smile.

The boy laughed nervously and blushed. It was the first time someone had ever responded to him like this, well, other than Hinata of course.

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I love pulling pranks on people! I'm going to be the greatest ninja ever so I can become-"

"Idiot. She asked for your name, not your life story." Sasuke growled.

"…the next…Hokage…" Naruto trailed off.

Lord Almighty was Sasuke a buzz killer.

"Sasuke," Rayne turned around to him quickly with a sarcastic smile. "You're such a party pooper."

He scoffed.

"Would you stop doing that?"

"What?"

"Scoffing."

"Tsh…"

"I said stop it!"

"Stop** what.**"

"Hey! Hey! I answered your question, n-now you answer mine!" Naruto desperately tried to separate the two as they glared, lightning crashing between their eyes.

Rayne backed away, but Sasuke continued staring with narrow eyes. "Well…I'm Rayne. Rayne Sayomi! Uh…since you told me what you liked, uh…I li-"

"YOU'RE RAYNE?!" Naruto suddenly screamed in her face, his spit landing on her cheek.

"Well…I DID just state that."

He jumped up in the air, and upon landing on the ground, did a little jig.

"This is so awesome! I never expected you to be so pretty! Now I have two pretty girls on my team, one of which actually TALKS to me! This day couldn't get any better! It's the best day of my life! It's-"

His collar was grabbed and he was yanked up in the air by the Jounin with silver hair who had an annoyed look on his face.

"I'm disappointed…not only in you, Naruto, but in all of you." He began as he looked at the other two Leaf shinobi. Rayne took that with surprise.

_'Me?! He better not be saying he's disappointed with me! I don't even know the guy! What the hell is he talking about?!'_

"I understand how Naruto could have missed it, but you two? Sakura, Sasuke, both of you were at the top of your class at the academy, and neither of you recognized Rayne? After all that we've gone through already, and you're lacking in your observation skills?"

The two of them hung their heads in embarrassment.

'Jeez…what_ a killjoy…'_ Rayne thought. She felt a need to come to their defense, not so much for Sakura, but for Naruto…and Sasuke too, she guessed.

"Dude…calm down. So what if they didn't recognize me? What'd you show them, a picture? How could you expect them to instantly recognize a face when they've only seen it once in their lifetime?" She questioned. Not the best defense, but hey, it was something.

"They're ninja; they should notice these things by now." He instantly replied. How forward.

Rayne was flustered. "Well…well you know what? YOU are an ASSHOLE!"

'_She just…she just cursed at Kakashi Sensei!'_ Sakura thought.

The silver haired man sighed as he dropped Naruto who didn't land too gracefully.

"The Hokage said you might be a bit difficult…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "My name is Kakashi Hatake…and I'll be your Sensei from now on."

Sasuke finally registered what was going on. "You…you're our new team mate?"

Rayne turned around and faced him again. Yet again their eyes made contact.

_'He likes eye contact when he talks…a sign that he likes to be respected. Hm…not bad.'_

Other than the eye color, Rayne noted the fact that he looked awfully similar to a certain person she had come in contact with once or twice before.

"Yeah…I'm Rayne Sayomi. It's nice to…well, formally be introduced." She replied, extending her hand to him this time.

He looked at it, then grasped it lightly. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Rayne could have swore she went as white as a ghost. She could feel her veins pump blood to her heart faster. Her grip on his hand loosened as her eyes stared back into his. He was an Uchiha; she knew she had recognized the face. He confirmed her suspicion, in some way or another, this boy was affiliated with him, there was no denying that.

It only took a few seconds for Sasuke to realize something was wrong. "Are…you alright? You're pale."

She felt her body shift suddenly as her heart almost beat its way out of her chest. Her blood boiled as his name was played over in and over in her head like a broken record.

She shut her eyes tightly. _'Uchiha…Uchiha…'_

"Rayne?" He calmly called out to her.

She raised her head, opening her eyes to connect with his black orbs again. She growled inwardly. _'Itachi…'_


	2. Revalation! His Face Is No More!

Hello! I didn't introduce myself in the previous chapter, because I didn't realize there wasn't an author notes section as I'm used to with other sites. So, hi, hello, my name is Shannondorf, and this is the first Naruto fanfiction I've written (: Now, it's actually completed, and I am reposting it here just to get it out there, and hopefully inspire me to continue working on the sequel seeing as if I'm having writers block now. I know I haven't updated in forever (because I get lazy) but it really shouldn't take me long to get the entire story up here as is. I hope you enjoy reading it!

* * *

_'This chakra...'_

"Lord Raikage, why don't you two ever go outside anymore?"

The voice of the Jounnin was enough to snap the Raikage out of his thoughts. He slightly turned his head to the right as his eyes locked with the man who spoke. Moments after the Raikage had knocked Rayne out of the side of the tower, a group of medical nin and Jounnin were sent in. Their objective?; Fix the wall he had broken…for the third time that month.

It had seemed that the Raikage and Rayne got a little…over excited when they sparred. On record they had demolished seventy six desks, thirteen book cases, broken through the floor thirty two times, broken through twenty one walls, and smashed two hundred and six windows. And all this destruction was just inside of the Raikage's office. Around the village they had brought down trees, broke through water towers, torn down electric wires, broke through a dam…to all other villagers they were insane, but the two of them found it as perfectly normal shinobi training techniques.

The Raikage's eyebrows twitched. "We'd take the chance of harming the villagers if we were to move outside."

"**OH, BUT YOU'RE PERFECTLY FIND TAKING THE LIBERTY TO PUT US IN DANGER?!**" Cue anime fall.

A's head drooped as he sighed. Suddenly the door opened. Although the other ninja in the room expected it to be another Jounnin group with more plaster and lath, the Raikage knew better. He immediately launched himself onto his duct taped desk whilst the Jounnin watched in horror.

"Are you **INSANE?! WE JUST FIXED THAT!**"

Obviously, the Raikage didn't hear them.

"Rayne! Back for more are you?! Haha! When will you ever-"

To his utter surprise, Rayne stood there unaffected by his mockery. The others, however, weren't so quiet.

"HOLY SHIT! DUDE! This guy is INSANE!" Naruto yelled as he pointed in awe of the huge man on the desk. The Raikage wasn't exactly a man of small build.

Sakura quickly came up behind Naruto and punched him in the back of the head. "Would you shut up ya idiot?! That's the Raikage you're talking about!" She began to bow just as rapidly as Rayne had previously. "I'm so sorry Lord Raikage! Please forgive him! He's a simple minded dimwhit~"

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head. "Hey! I'm not a dimwhit! (points to Sasuke) HE's a dimwhit!"

Sasuke's brow twitched. "What'd you call me, loser?"

"I'm not the loser, YOU'RE the loser, Sasuke!"

"You take that back right now, Naruto!" Sakura squealed.

By this time the Raikage had removed himself from his desk and sat back down in his seat, watching the Leaf nin before him with a grin on his face.

_'These guys are like a comedy act! Ho ho, Rayne should fit right in!'_

"A, don't get yourself so excited. Cool your jets."

They all turned to face Rayne as soon as the dreary comment had been said.

"Calling the Raikage by his first name, that's a bit disrespectful, don't ya think?" Kakashi implied.

"I'm pretty sure being sent through a cement wall, only to plummet down to the earth, hundreds of feet below is even more disrespectful," Rayne retorted in a grumble as she glared at the Raikage, who only laughed.

"Hah! It's all just in spirit. Did you really expect me to go easy on you when it was our last time sparring?"

Naruto mouth dropped to the floor. "Y-you spar with the Raikage?"

Rayne turned her head and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, and?"

He sat down on the ground and crossed his arms, "The Hokage never spars with me!"

"That's because you aren't worth sparring with, idiot. You'd just be a waste of the Hokage's time."

"Sasuke's right, Naruto. The Hokage does have more important things to do, rather than deal with you."

The Raikage watched the other two chastise their teammate with a frown. Throwing insults at your ally wasn't a smart decision. Yelling and chastising wouldn't solve a thing. He cleared his throat.

"Now now, let us settle down. Since we skipped a formal introduction, my name is A, and I am the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village here within the Land of Lightning. Being that you have Leaf headbands, I can deduce that you are the team that has been sent by the Hokage to retrieve Rayne?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, and I am Kakashi Hatake, Jounnin leader of Squad-"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm **really** excited to have Rayne be a part of my team! I mean, she's **really** nice and **really** pretty! We get a long already! I promise that I won't let anything happen to her! I'm going to be Hokage someday, believe it!"

Sakura and Kakashi sighed, hanging their heads. _'Hyperactive as usual…'_

The Raikage started laughing. "Hokage, eh? Kid, you have a long way to go! If you're serious about it though, I have no doubts that someday I'll be seeing you at an assembly of the Kage! Now you, sweetie, what's your name?"

Sakura blushed. "You really are too kind sir…my name is Sakura Haruno."

He smiled. "Very nice to make your acquaintance young lady…and you my boy?"

Sasuke barely glanced over at him. "Sasuke Uchiha."

The moment Sasuke stated his name the carefree air of the room was shrouded in tension. The Raikage glanced over at Rayne who stood there silently, bangs covering her eyes, no emotion whatsoever. Naruto noted this tension and became flustered.

"Alright, what's going on? Sasuke mentions his name and suddenly the whole world stops spinning?! When he introduced himself to Rayne earlier, she had the same reaction; silence!"

"Don't go messing around in affairs you wouldn't be able to begin to understand, kid." The Raikage snapped at him with a cold demeanor. Just as quickly as Rayne had switched her bright personality off, the Raikage did the same. They were all taken aback, except Rayne, of course, and Naruto shut his mouth.

"I regret to inform you…that Rayne will not be able to go along with you back to the Hidden Leaf Village."

This time Rayne's head shot up, along with the others.

"And why is that, Lord Raikage?" Kakashi innocently questioned.

"Because…I don't see your team as fitting for Rayne as I was lead to believe," he answered simply.

Naruto growled, "What makes you think you can decide things for her, huh old man?"

With a flick of the Raikage's wrist, Naruto was sent backward through the door and pinned to the wall in the hallway with four bolts of lightning; one in each shoulder and wrist.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelped.

The sudden action had stirred Rayne and brought her back to reality. She turned and ran out into the hall to tend to Naruto who was screaming his head off.

"Oh my God! He impaled my shoulders and wrists! Now I'm not going to be able to use my hands! I'm going to be a useless shinobi! My dreams! My goals! My futu-"

Rayne's palm covered Naruto's mouth as she sighed with a grumble. "Oh would you shut up? These bolts only paralyze the opponent's body; they won't cause any significant damage."

A look of relief came over Naruto as he finally let his body relax. Rayne smirked and turned back around to face the others that were still in the room. Honestly she wasn't surprised by what the Raikage had said. He knew how she felt about the prestigious Uchiha clan, and out of all shinobi in the Land of Fire to be on a team with, it had to be an Uchiha.

_'Okay now, calm down. Sasuke Uchiha. He's an Uchiha. Just because he's one of them, it doesn't mean he'd be as much of a bastard as Itachi is. Cruel, loathing, full of hatred and disgust for all others around him, acting all high and mighty as if he were the best…okay, I can see some similarities between the two, but Itachi left the village, so there's no way Sasuke could have an affiliation with him, eh?'_

She raised her head to stare at the back of Sasuke's. Concentrating on the knot of his headband she watched his hair being carried in the air when a sudden gust came in from the hole in the wall.

_'But…when I look into his face…I see Itachi. He's an asshole, but I do have to admit that Itachi is attractive, and so is Sasuke. But, if you ask me, I'd say Sasuke took on the more attractive genes. His face outshines Itachi's.'_

Rayne blushed at her inner conflict and held her hands to her cheeks; she felt hot.

_'Enough of that! …anyway, there's no reason I should affiliate Sasuke with Itachi! Itachi is gone, he doesn't reside in Konoha anymore…hm, maybe I can ask Sasuke why he left in the first place. All I have to do is concentrate and remind myself that he __**isn't**__ Itachi.'_

As she talked more with herself she could hear the mumbling of the other voice: the Raikage's and Kakashi's. The Raikage was voicing his opinion on the matter, telling Kakashi that he saw the team as unfit and uncooperative, therefore being unable to protect Rayne when needed. Kakashi retorted when he explained their mission to the Land of Waves and how they had come together as a team to defeat their enemy.

Rayne shut her eyes. _'Sasuke isn't Itachi. You'll bear no ill will toward him. Sasuke isn't Itachi. Sasuke isn't Itachi. __**SASUKE ISN'T ITACHI!**__'_

"**HE ISN'T HIM!**"

Her sudden outburst had interrupted the argument between the Raikage and Kakashi. They turned to look at her in surprise. Obviously Rayne didn't know she had screamed what she thought were her inner thoughts out loud, for when she opened her eyes, she questioned why they were peering at her.

"Who's not who?" Naruto asked with his eyes narrowed and a bored expression on his face.

"Hm?" Rayne turned her face to his and blinked. "O-oh…did I say that outloud?" Cue sweat drop.

"Yes," they all replied in union.

She shook her head. "Oh, well, Lord Raikage, I find that it would be in my best interest to go with them!"

He was surprised by her sudden comeback. She had fought her inner conflict concerning Itachi and had won. He looked at her with concern nonetheless.

"Are you sure, Rayne? I am quite aware of your emotions you know. You cannot fool me."

"I'm not attempting to fool you ya old geezer! I'm simply stating my desire. I. Want. To. Go. With. Them. To. Ko. No. Ha."

He wilted like a flower, "I'm not a four year old, Rayne. You don't have to break your words up to speak with me."

"Well it sure seemed that way…"

They stood there growling with each other for a few seconds before the Raikage surrendered. "Fine."

This caused Rayne and Naruto to develop the same goofy grin on their faces.

_'Just what we need, Naruto in female form,'_ Sasuke complained to himself

"Are you all packed, Rayne?"

Rayne's eyes sparkled as she scurried over to Kakashi and bowed before him. She then raised her head. "Oh YES Sensei! I have all of my belongings packed into my bag, but I have to tell you, I have one more mission that I must complete before I leave this village!"

"Oh?" this struck Kakashi's interest, "And what mission might that be?"

"A mission where I'm going to need Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's help!" she whispered.

He chuckled, "Alright, Rayne. Tell me allllll about it."


	3. Campfire

It's been brought to my attention before that Sasuke is OOC in this chapter, thanks to my good friend Karnia who critiqued the entire story herself on TONFA ^^ But I thought I'd post the story in its original formated (this chapter was written back in 2008) before revising it, even if I do, because, hell, I'm lazy.

* * *

~ 6 Hours Earlier ~

"What do you prefer, eh? Milk or dark chocolate?"

They took turns responding to Rayne's question.

"It doesn't really matter to me! I'll eat any kind of chocolate!" Sakura giggled.

"I like milk personally…dark gives me a stomach ache…" Naruto groaned.

"No way! It does that to me too!" Rayne gasped. Her and Naruto stared at each other in disbelief for a moment before Rayne addressed Sasuke. "And you, Sasuke?"

"I don't like sweets."

"Don't like sweets? Are you NOT human?!" Naruto screamed into his face, spreading his spit.

"Gah! Naruto, you're disgusting! Wipe your spit off of me right now!"

"Naruto! Don't get your germs all over Sasuke!"

Rayne arched her eyebrows as she watched the two boys wrestle on the ground as Sakura ran up to them. She smiled briefly to herself and requested a half pound of milk chocolate from the store clerk. Knowing that they'd have to campout at least once before they reached Konoha, Rayne decided she'd take the opportunity to get to know her teammates, especially Naruto. And what better way was there than to bond over a campfire when you're out in the desolate woods where no one could hear them scream?

She grabbed a hold of her bag of chocolate and sprinted toward the others with excitement in her eyes. Upon being ignored when she got there, Rayne kicked Naruto off of Sasuke, sending Sakura, who was clawing Naruto, and Naruto himself, backward and onto a bench. Oh…and what a sight to see.

There was no other way to put how they landed in words other than epic. Sakura had landed flat on her back on the bench, and Naruto was laying on top of her, slightly propped up on his hands so he could look down into her eyes. Unfortunately for Sakura, she had clung to him as they flew through the air, leaving her arms to be wrapped around him.

While Sasuke let his guard down as he watched the two of them, Rayne took the liberty of dusting him off, much to his dismay when she started patting his tush.

"Wh-what are you doing!" Sasuke exclaimed as he reached his hand around him to grab Rayne's and stop her. She merely blinked.

"Well…I was trying to be a courteous teammate and dust you off. Dirt doesn't exactly flatter white shorts, Sasuke."

"So your definition of being courteous is to paw at another's body when you're allotted the chance?"

Rayne blushed out of embarrassment and slight anger. Then, she smirked, "I can't help it if I take advantage of opportunities once they're handed to me, Uchiha."

"Tsh, don't tell me you're going to be as bad as the other girls. I had actually thought you were different."

Wait a minute, she did it! She actually did it for the first time! As Sasuke bantered on, Rayne squealed, and Sasuke sweat dropped.

"I knew it…just like the othe-"

"I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it!" Rayne bounced around, doing her own personal victory dance (jumping around, thrusting arms in the air and "walking like an Egyptian") as she praised herself, leaving Sasuke utterly dumbfounded.

"What di…did what? What are you talking about?"

_'I did it! I said his name without thinking about Itachi! …oh no wait, that's a lie, because now I'm thinking about him. SHITCAKES!'_

"S…Sakura…" Naruto stuttered while doing his best to suppress his blush, "I…I've been waiting for this…for a really long time."

His voice caught the attention of the other two as they watched Naruto approach Sakura's face, lips fully puckered. Sakura, obviously in shock, and more than likely fear, just laid there.

"Don't tell me he's actually going to…" Rayne's speech was interrupted by a shriek from Sakura. Her thoughts were then further interrupted by the sound of fist colliding with bone as Sakura punched Naruto in the face, launching him further down the road, spiraling into a tree.

"Idiot," Sasuke simply stated and sighed.

"**HOW DARE YOU CLIMB ON TOP OF ME LIKE THAT YOU SICK PERV! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS BECAUSE IF THESE PEOPLE WEREN'T AROUND I'D CASTRATE YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!**"  
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rayne sighed as she glanced to her left to look at Naruto who was covered in medical bandages and dirt. Out of the three of them she hadn't expected Sakura to be the most emotionally unbalanced. A simple quest to buy chocolate turned into an ordeal because of the two of them.

After being sent into the tree, Naruto had blacked out. Sakura stood there fuming whilst Rayne threw her bag of chocolate at Sasuke, who didn't catch it with ease, instead catching it upside down, causing nearly all the chocolate to pour out onto the village street. Rayne darted down the road to Naruto, leaving a cloud of dust behind her, and attempted to pry him from the bark of the tree that he was stuck in.

Rayne grasped the bag with the three remaining pieces of chocolate and looked to her right, past Sakura, to Sasuke. Her face: ڪ_ڪ …

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Sasuke looked to his left, but was soon blocked by the body of Kakashi.

"It's time to set up camp for the night," he declared.

"Man, I didn't think it would take us so long to get back to the village! I only brought one change of clothes!" Sakura whined in disgust.

"e_e it's called showering, Sakura."

Sakura's green eyes connected with Rayne's grey ones, and their pupils instantly exploded with flames of fury.

Kakashi sweat dropped. _'These two are like Naruto and Sasuke. I had better split them up…let's see, Rayne and Naruto can go collect fire wood while Sakura and Sasuke…wait, that won't work. Then again, if Sakura's with Naruto, the likelihood of them bickering is just as high as her and Rayne…oh what the hell do I do?'_

"Rayne, Sasuke, go collect wood for the fire. Naruto, you can help me set up the tents…Sakura, you prepare our meals!"

_'I'm such a genius! ^ ^ '_

"**WHAT?!** Kakashi Sensei, why does Rayne get to go off with Sasuke?!"

He hung his head. _'I should have known she'd protest.'_

"Because unlike you, Rayne will actually stay on task when working with Sasuke."

Now Sakura hung her head.

_'Hah! Take __**that**__ fan girl!'_ Rayne thought to herself in victory. "Naruto, don't impale yourself when you're setting up the tents! Come on Sasuke, let's go get some wood!"

"Whatever."

Rayne twitched. "You know, I'm just going to start calling you Buzzkill from now on."

Sasuke growled and scoffed.

"**I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!**"

"Guys, please, just go," Kakashi asked in distress. They each responded with a dull "fine" and were off. Kakashi smiled and then reached into his pack, "Alright, Naruto. You set up camp."

Naruto looked up, "What are you going to do sensei?"

"Read of course!"

Cue Naruto's anime fall. "I should have known…"  
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Since the sun hadn't fully set, the view in the forest was beautiful. Even when she and Sasuke had only gotten about 30 feet into the forest Rayne felt totally at peace with herself. The air was fresh, sun rays were shining through the trees, lighting the path before them, and the breeze was just enough to carry a few strands of hair in it.

Rayne hadn't been anywhere near the Leaf Village, and the Cloud Village was basically stone and water, so being around true nature was something she was grateful for. Sasuke had a hard time understanding that.

"We're out to get fire wood, not to jerk around, Rayne."

She ceased rolling around in the tall grass, sat up, and looked at him. "You really are no fun at all, Buzzkill."

"Enough with that name already!" He snapped at her, to which she replied with a giggle.

"Aww-haha! Is Sasuke getting all flustered?" She bat her eyes in his direction and he merely turned his back.

She frowned. "Hey, just be glad Kakashi Sensei didn't send you out here with Sakura…what's your problem with her anyway."

He turned his head slightly to peer over his shoulder. "You mean you haven't noticed?"

"She's energetic, likes to smile, and has a short temper…squeals…is clingy…likes you…I don't see your point," she said sarcastically with a wink.

He smirked, "You hit the nail right on the head."

"But what I don't understand is why you don't give her a chance, I mean, I'm sure a guy like you loves that kind of attention. And from what she said, it seems like plenty of girls throw themselves at you."

"I can't be bothered with that shit," he said bluntly, "And besides, there's no depth to someone that will just throw them self at you; there's no chase, no excitement. It's just there."

Rayne stared. _'Well…damn, that was deep.'_

It was at this time that Sasuke fully turned around to face her.

_'She isn't completely a mirror image of Naruto…at least she has some brain cells.'_ He shook his thoughts. "Come on, Rayne, let's get going."  
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Naruto wailed as the pole that held up the tent flew back, smacking him in the face, sending him backward into the tent he had just finished placing, causing it to collapse.

He instantly sat up with a large red line in the middle of his forehead. "**That's IT! I'm sick and tired of this! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!**"

Before you knew it three other Naruto appeared before him…well, their deflated white forms did on the floor did at least.

Naruto screamed at the sky, "God damnit! I REALLY DO SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"  
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rayne, who had punching the shit out of the side of a tree limb, stopped as she heard Naruto's wail.

"Sasuke, did you just hear something?"

Unlike Rayne, Sasuke continued punching the tree limb he was working on. "It's probably just Naruto…being a loser, as usual."

She glared over at him from her tree, "Oh ye of little faith."  
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Soon enough the two of them had returned to their camp site. Rayne was happy to see Naruto sitting quietly alongside of the two tents that were formed. She quickly made her way over to him, throwing the wood she had collected in a misplaced pile for Sakura to configure.

"Way to go, Naruto! The tents look perfect!"

"Thank you!"

Rayne re-directed her attention to Kakashi who emerged from one of the tents. She sweat dropped.

"N-Naruto…don't tell me…"

He hung his head, and she soon did the same.

After a half hour they were able to eat. Sakura had prepared a pot of vegetable soup for them, and there was just enough to feed the whole group. Rayne stared down at her empty bowl, and then reluctantly looked up at Sakura, who glared in her direction.

"The soup…was good. Thank you, Sakura." Rayne briefly bowed to her and set her bowl down. Sakura said nothing, just smiled and nodded.

"Alright you guys…since there are only two tents that can only hold two people at a time, we're going to have to take turns guarding. I'll be the one to go first. After me will be Sasuke. Following Sasuke will be Naruto, and then following him will be Sakura and Rayne. That should get us through the night if we do three hours at a time."

"**TWO HOURS?! THAT'S SO LONG KAKASHI SENSEI! IT'LL BE SO BORING!**" Naruto screamed as he jumped up and pointed in the Jounnin's face.

Thanks to his complaining, Naruto's guard duty was switched with Kakashi.

Rayne was awoken by a knee colliding with her side, and a pillow being pushed against her face.

"Sa…Sasuke…oh, Sasuke…"

Rayne shot up like a rocket and peered down at the dreaming Sakura next to her, pillow squished against her body, covered in drool.

_'If only I had a camera…'_ Rayne evily thought. She glanced over at the wrist watch Kakashi had placed in their tent after his shift was over. It was 2:10, and Rayne hung her head. They had started their guarding at 9:30, so she plenty of time before her own shift at 5:30.

_'Hm…well, since I'm up now, I suppose I'll go ask Kakashi if I can keep guard for now. He'll need his rest too.'_

She had attempted to get up until a hand grasped onto her own. Utterly creeped out her eyes shot over in Sakura's direction; she was still asleep, calling Sasuke's name. Rayne slouched. Stealthily she slipped her pillow next to Sakura's hand, and just as Rayne had thought she would, she grasped onto it, calling Sasuke's name once more. She then made her leave.

Upon crawling out of the tent she stood up. She had brought a black t-shirt and grey, green, and blue striped boxers with her to sleep in. Studying the trees she looked for Kakashi's figure. Bingo. Walking toward the tree she had stepped on a rock, causing her to whimper and collapse to the earth, rubbing her foot with tears in her eyes.

"What the hell did you do now?"

Such coarse language.

"Sasuke?" Rayne asked, dumbfounded.

As she squint she could see the outline of his body more clearly. He had his head turned to the side which had caused her to believe it was her Sensei's lopsided hair cut.

"Why isn't Kakashi Sensei out here?"

"He switched shifts with me. After reading the whole time we were collecting wood he wanted to finish his book as fast as he could since it was coming to the climax."

Rayne snickered; who the hell used the word climax when speaking of something other than sex?

"You're such a child."

His insult drove her to jump up onto the branch he was on. Concentrating her chakra into her feet, Rayne intentionally slammed down onto the branch flat footed with force, resulting in a shaky branch and a shaky Sasuke. There she stood before him with her arms crossed, glaring down.

"Oh come on, you know you have perverse thoughts cross your mind too sometimes."

He looked away, "As if."

"You're a guy, Sasuke. Not only are you a guy, but it's the early age of teenage hood. Your hormones are raging just as much as all the others kids our age are."

"I'm not like the others," he replied with a cold tone.

Sasuke was pushed against the tree, his shoulders pinned by Rayne's hands as she stared into his face.

"You tell me what your problem is right now, Uchiha. You act so high and mighty, why? Why do you think you're so much better than Naruto, eh? Just because you have such a lax demeanor and he has one people would actually like? I can't understand why so many people think you're hot shi-"

She was thrown backward onto the branch as Sasuke pushed her, this time pinning her shoulders with his hands.

"You wouldn't even be able to begin to understand the reason behind who I am or the way I think!"

"No…no, I wouldn't! So please, by all means, enlighten me."

Her eyes narrowed as she tried her best to deplete the blush forming on her face. Thank God it was a night that the moon wasn't shining or else he would see. Rayne did think he was cocky, but he wasn't cocky with his looks, so she could at least admire them. Not to mention, he was now on top of her.

Sasuke slightly pulled back and relieved the pressure he put on her shoulders, "I don't…I don't want to open up to someone I've just met so suddenly."

"Because then there's no mystery?"

Sasuke's eyes were lowering, but then were fixated on Rayne's as she said that. She merely smiled as she felt his body relax.

_'I'm guessing that she's enjoying this,'_ Sasuke thought to himself, 'She's fast, so I had better move so she doesn't take advantage of his situation. Lord knows Sakura would.'

"Something tells me Sakura would hate to see me in this position with you, Sasuke."

Sasuke: O_o …he twitched which caused Rayne's body to move slightly. Did she just read his thoughts? What the hell?

"I mean…did you hear her in the tent? It's no wonder I can't sleep. It's Sasuke, Sasuke! Oh, Sasuke!" Rayne moaned his name in a mockery of Sakura, causing Sasuke's cheeks to form a light shade of pink. He mentally thanked the moon for being masked by the clouds.

"I'm pretty sure she was making out with her pillow too, it was shrouded in drool. And then, when I had gotten up to get out of the tent, she grabbed my wrist! I think she thought I was you. God only knows what she would have…done to me…e_e "

"What'd she have done to you? It wouldn't be half as bad as what she's doing to me in her dreams."

"I'm positive she would re-enact them with me."

Silence.

"That's just disgusting."

Rayne chuckled. "Well, let's face it, Sasuke! Boy's hormones aren't the only ones raging at this age~ "

"Please don't tell me you're as bad as her."

Just then, by another act of God, the clouds moved and the moon lit their faces. Rayne had known she was blushing…but she was shocked to see that Sasuke also had a pink face. Talking about such personal things must have really struck a nerve; hormones weren't something you just talked about in public daily.

"I thought…there was a new moon tonight…" Rayne quietly said as she felt her face get a shade redder.

"You thought wrong."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

He narrowed his eyes down at her, and she narrowed her eyes up at him.

"Whatever," he scoffed as he pulled back from her and sat against the tree's body. Unlike him, Rayne remained lying down. It was ten minutes since they had stopped talking. Sasuke knew exactly how long it was: he was counting.

"Why are you still laying there? Go back to the tent and leave me to watch guard; I can't have you distracting me more."

No response.

"Rayne, don't be cocky. Listen to me, go back."

Still no response.

"Rayne!"

Nothing.

He had finally gotten agitated enough to crawl forward, grab the bottom of Rayne's shirt, and sit her up. Not knowing his own strength, Sasuke had pulled her up too forcefully, causing her body to fly forward, pushing him back against the tree.

His face heated up just as quickly as before. "Rayne, get the hell off of me already!"

He pushed her shoulders away, but her head still hung down, her hair framing her face. What the hell? He pulled her against him once more, positioning her so he held her supported her back with his left arm. Cautiously he moved his hand down, aiming for her bangs, and swiftly moved them.

Her eyes were closed; she had fallen asleep.

"Idiot…why didn't you just go back to the tent if you were so tired."

"Because she wouldn't shut up."

Sasuke, scared shitless, increased his grip on Rayne's shoulders with his left hand, unknowingly pulling her toward him, squishing her face into his chest. Suffocating, all Rayne could hear was his heart beat, and boy, was it fast.


	4. Put Your Running Foot Forward

It was now 7:00 in the morning. Rayne sat in the same tree she was in with Sasuke around 2:00. Since the "incident" between the two had occurred, Rayne had trouble laying still. So, when Sakura awoke to take her shift, Rayne volunteered to take it for her, along with her own. Sakura was confused, but didn't protest, and thanked Rayne as she went back to sleep.

A wild gust of wind suddenly came behind Rayne and blew all her hair forward, tangling and knotting it as it fell into her face. She blew a few strands from her mouth, and pulled the rest back with her fingers.

"Mother Nature, you're such a bitch."

Her eyes shifted back down to their camp site when she saw a mass of green flip around; it was Sakura's tent. Rayne's eyebrow rose as she noticed that Sakura was still asleep. The tent tumbled into the other, causing it to collapse, which obviously woke at least one male up.

"**AHA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! OH MY GOD I CAN'T SEE! HELP! HELP! KAKASHI SENSEI, HELP ME!**" Naruto whaled as his figure whipped around restlessly, causing the tent to rise and sink with his movements. "That's it! If no one can help me, I'll help myself! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

_'Oh dear God,'_ Rayne thought as she sweat dropped, watching the green material of the tent suddenly bulk up. Eventually, the number of Naruto's increased, all to the point where they piled up, holding the tents up off the ground. Kakashi and Sasuke were on the bottom of the pile.

"N-Naruto…call…back the…clones you…you're crus…crushing us," Kakashi desperately tried to say as he barely breathed.

The actual Naruto looked down in the middle of the pile, "Oh! Hey Kakashi Sensei! I see that this tent was what attacked me! Hah, imagine that!" He released the jutsu, and all the clones disappeared; he then fell on top of his team mates who growled at him.

"Naruto, why are you such an idiot?" Sasuke asked.

"What'd you say, Sasuke?! You're the one that can't tell when people are asleep or awake!"

Rayne screamed at Naruto's remark as she flipped a shit, and fell off of the tree limb she was in. Sasuke tackled Naruto to the ground, covering his mouth.

"What the hell are you talking about, loser?!"

Naruto smiled under his palm. "Eeeduntenken-"

Sasuke's hand came off of his mouth.

"-saw? You and Rayne were-"

This time Rayne's hand covered Naruto's mouth.

"Shut up right now, Naruto, you peeping tom!" she quickly spat.

Naruto made an "hmph" sound under her palm, and Rayne raised her head to look at Sasuke. Once their eyes connected, they stared for a moment, and then looked away.

"Sasuke…its cold…share the blanket…"

Sasuke slowly turned his head in Sakura's direction. She was still asleep, rolling over to her right, facing them, as she grabbed the pillow.

"And you wondered why I couldn't sleep last night?" Rayne taunted Sasuke who just scoffed.

"**WHY THE HELL IS IT ALWAYS SASUKE, HUH?! SAKURA'S IN LOVE WITH SASUKE! RAYNE AND SASUKE ARE CUDDLING IN A TREE! WHY THE HELL CAN'T I GE-**!" Naruto, who had stood up to scream, was quickly pulled down to the ground and wrestled by Rayne.

"**NARUTO! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP YOU BAKA!**"

Kakashi sighed as he lazily opened his eye and watched his team members roll around on the ground, creating clouds of dust around them. The ruckus had awakened Sakura as well; she blushed when she realized Sasuke was staring at her as she dreamed.

"Alright guys," Kakashi started, "I'm not even going to ask what's happened…let's just pack up and get to the village, okay?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Just a few more steps, Rayne! Then, you can open your eyes!"

Naruto had decided it would be a good idea to blindfold Rayne before they got close to the village gates so she could be surprised instead of just walking up to it in a regular manner. He didn't think of guiding her at first, thinking she could figure where to go, and Rayne tripped over a rock and nearly tumbled down a hill, but Kakashi quickly rescued her before she could do any damage. After that little episode, Naruto vowed to guide her by holding her hand the whole way.

Without warning, Naruto and the rest of them stopped, leaving Rayne to continue walking, bumping into Sakura who was in front of her, standing next to Sasuke, of course.

"Alright, ready for the blindfold to come off?!" Naruto asked Rayne a little too excitedly for the other's liking.

"Yeah!" Rayne replied just as excited.

"You're going to love the village, Rayne! I just know you will!" Sakura squealed.

Naruto undid the knot of the blindfold behind Rayne's head, and pulled the ties out to the side of her head, hanging the cloth before her eyes to build up the suspense. After five seconds, Naruto dropped the blindfold and let it fall to the ground. Rayne opened her eyes and squint against the sun light, instantly blinding her since she was in the dark for such a prolonged amount of time.

Once her eyes adjusted, she looked before her and saw a long winding road with hundreds of people walking along it with shops lining both sides. Far away and straight ahead she could see a huge rock with what appeared to be carvings in it, but from her distance, she couldn't exactly tell what it was.

_'Trees…lots and lots of trees…definitely different than the Cloud Village. This place has a whole different feel to it'_ Rayne thought as she stared down the road, mesmerized.

"Come on, Rayne!" Naruto shouted, grabbing her hand in the process of him walking forward, "I'll take you on a village tour!"

Kakashi quickly rid Naruto of his idiotic smile. "We have to go to the Hokage first, Naruto."

At first Naruto scowled, but then his smile returned. "Aw, that's no biggie! You'll still get somewhat of a tour as we head that way! **SO LET'S GO! NO WASTING TIME!**"

"W-wait, Naruto!" He tugged on Rayne's arm and instantly sped away, "**NARUTO! NARUTO HOLD ON! STOP GOING SO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST**."

The others watched Naruto drag Rayne along the ground as he ran.

"Man, why is he such a loser?" Sasuke sighed.

"Hyperactive knuckle head," Sakura added on. She looked at Sasuke.

"**CHA! NOW THAT RAYNE AND NARUTO ARE GONE TO THE HOKAGE, SASUKE AND I CAN SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER! CHA CHING!**" Inner Sakura roared.

"H-hey Sasuke…now that Naruto is taking Rayne to the Hokage, we're going to have some free time so…would you like to-"

"Don't even think about it, Sakura. We have to go to the Hokage too," Kakashi said, quickly shooting down her plot to spend time with Sasuke, not that he would have said yes anyway.

"Oh…right…" Sakura said in a defeated tone.

Half way down the road, Naruto was still dragging Rayne along.

"Naruto, would you please slow down? I'm excited too but ple-"

Suddenly he stopped and she slammed into his back, causing her to fall backward onto the ground with an "oof". She looked to her sides and saw a few villagers staring, whispering as they walked by, carrying on with their daily lives. She just smiled awkwardly.

"This here, this is Konoha Stadium! Once a year we hold the Annual Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival here in August! Now you'll be able to compete with us! Haha, isn't that awesome?!"

"Y-yeah, Naruto…now le-"  
He grabbed a hold on her arm and pulled h  
er back up to him. "I'll show you my favorite place next!"

"But don't you think that we shou-"

"**THIS WAY!**" And with that he pulled her up the road, made a sharp left, and then made a quick right before stopping again. This time, Rayne was prepared to slam into him, and brought her body weight against his, causing him to fall on the ground with her on top.

"AND THAT'S FOR PULLING ME AROUND LIKE A SACK OF WHEAT, NARUTO!" Rayne screamed into his face after she rolled off of him and pulled him to her, shaking him by his shoulders.

He had a dazed expression on his face until he looked up and smirked. "THIS! This…this is heaven…" He got up and walked past her, hugging the side of the hut they had come to.

Rayne looked up at the sign. "Ichiraku…Ramen Shop."

"The best ramen in town, little lady!" A man, who Rayne presumed to be the owner, said as he walked to the front. "Naruto here is our best customer! So, Naruto, is this your girlfriend?"

Naruto instantly turned red, and the man gave him a wink.

"N-no…this isn't…she's…she's…my friend. Her…her name is Rayne," he quietly explained as he kicked the dirt around beneath his sandals.

"Well then, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Rayne. Naruto, you'd better bring her here on dates, you got that?"

"**SHE ISN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!**" Naruto denied once more. Rayne's face had an evil expression coat it. She pushed herself off of the ground and threw herself on top of him.

"Oh come on now, Naru~ You don't have to lie about it~"

Naruto got increasingly red, almost to the point where Rayne thought he was going to explode. She pressed her cheek against his and moved her head up and down, nuzzling him.

"Aw, I don't blame him for being shy. He hasn't ever brought a girl with him before. The only person he's ever come here with was Iruka…hey, Naruto, maybe you should take Rayne here down to the hot springs," the man suggested.

"Oh yes!" cooed a female as she randomly popped into the scene from behind the counter. "The hot springs are right down the road, a block away. And let me tell you, they are SO refreshing!"

"Hm…I would like that, Naruto. Come on, just for me?" Rayne purred as she pressed her chest against Naruto's arm, and his head snapped in her direction. By this time he had broken out into a sweat.

"It's nice to see that you two are getting to…uh, know…each other, but right now isn't the time for it."

Rayne turned herself around, which forced Naruto to turn as well, and faced Kakashi Sensei; Sakura and Sasuke were behind him with wide eyes.

"Oh, hey guys! Naruto was just-"

"Taking you to the Hokage's Office," Naruto said, cutting her off. Rayne tried to take a look at his face, but frowned when he turned away from her.

_'Eh…maybe I went a little too far…'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Kakashi led the others up the stair case in the direction of the Hokage's Office. Numerous leaf shinobi cast their glances at Rayne, probably wondering who the hell she was since they hadn't ever seen her face before. Rayne noticed Naruto walking next to her, and she tried to break the silence.

"Hey, Naruto? …I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For clinging to you like that! I shouldn't have…I was just teasing you…it was like a joke."

Naruto looked at her with a frown. "It's just…pretty girls don't give me attention…not many people do. So, when you did that…it just caught me off guard. It's not like I'm mad or anything. I know you didn't mean it."

Rayne sighed in relief.

"I know it's because you like Sasuke."

Sasuke head turned slightly and Rayne felt as though an anvil had hit her on the head.

"Would you stop concluding that?!" Rayne growled. "Buzzkill doesn't have anything to do wi-"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

Rayne glared at the back of Sasuke's head, "I don't recall inviting you into this conversation."

"I don't need an invitation," he said with a smirk, causing Rayne to grumble.

Naruto and Rayne looked at each other. When their eyes connected, they instantly smiled the same goofy smile, because they knew they were thinking the same thing about Sasuke.

The group had reached the top of the stair case and walked down a hallway, stopped at the first door on the left. Kakashi knocked on it three times, and it slowly opened.

_'Oh, because that isn't creepy,'_ Rayne thought.

The others walked into the room before her, and Rayne soon followed. The room only had three windows in it, all behind the huge desk before them. There sat three people: two Jounnin on the left and right of the figure in the center, the Hokage.

"I've been expecting you for quite a while, Kakashi."

Kakshi grabbed the back of his head, "Yes well…we got a little distracted. Naruto went a little over board and took off with Rayne when we got here, attempting to give her a tour of the village."

I see. The man before them lit his pipe, taking a few puffs. "Rayne, why are you hiding? Let me see how well you've grown. The only picture we have of you on file is of one when you were eight."

_'Creeper.'_ Rayne went to step between Sasuke and Sakura, and although Sakura moved, Sasuke didn't. Rayne shot a glare in his direction, to which he replied with a smirk. She felt her eyebrow twitch as she suddenly shoved her left hip into him, bumping him into Kakashi, clearing her path. Triumphantly, Rayne stood before the Hokage.

Age hadn't been too kind to him. He had a bounty of wrinkles, a major case of crow's feet, and a couple of age spots. Nonetheless, he took another puff of his pipe whilst looking Rayne up and down.

"You have grown quite a bit, Rayne. How is the Raikage, eh?"

"The usual," Rayne said with a shrug, "Annoying, loud, cocky, all that jazz."

The Hokage smirked, "I can't imagine how a man such as he can retain the title of Raikage. Loud, hot headed, trust issues-"

"Hey! Don't go insulting the old man, old man! I'll take that pipe and shove it up your-"

Sakura clamped her hand over Rayne's mouth as Rayne struggled in her grasp. "Are you insane?! You may be able to get away with that back in your village, but you can't do that here!"

"You really are just like him."

Rayne and Sakura looked up at the Hokage.

"You really are a spitting image of the Raikage…I recall our first meeting. I said one thing that he didn't like and he called me an old man. Just the other week when he and I had arranged this deal he called me an old man. He's quite a character, and I see you have adapted some of his qualities, Rayne. As he raised you, his personality must have rubbed off."

"**YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER OF THE RAIKAGE?!**" Naruto and Sakura shouted in union.

Rayne scowled and took a hold of Sakura's hand, ripping it away from her mouth as she shot them all a dirty look. "No, I am not."

"Then how come he raised you?" Naruto innocently questioned.

"My parents…" Rayne's eyes concentrated on a floor board.

"They left her in the Raikage's care," the Hokage spoke, finishing her sentence.

Naruto's clenched fist hit his open left palm softly. "Oh, I se-"

"That isn't true."

They all focused on Rayne.

"Don't go lying to them…you're a leader of a village, what the hell kind of leader lies to his people?"

She raised her eyes to look into the Hokage's. Something about Rayne's eyes had changed; they were glazed over with hatred.

"Don't go talking about my life as if you know what's going on. And even if you do know what's happened, don't go twisting my story, you got that? You have no right."

"Rayne?" Sakura placed her hand on Rayne's shoulder.

The Hokage sighed. _'This isn't good.'_

"My parents didn't leave me to the Raikage…my parents **abandoned** me. They couldn't care less what happened to me; I was too much of a hassle for them. They probably never even wanted a child…I was a mistake." She clenched her fists as she bit her lip. "I should have been the stain on the fucking mattress."

Sakura withdrew her hand and covered her mouth. Naruto simply breathed her name, and instead of going to her, he hung his head, eyes fixated on the floor as questions buzzed through his mind. Both his and even Sasuke's heart sank as they thought about their own parents.

"My apologies," the Hokage started, "On another note, we have an issue that we need to discuss."

Rayne's eye twitched as she stared at the man, "And what is that?"

The Hokage placed his pipe on his desk, folding his hands in front of his face. "There is the matter of where you're going to be staying. Rather than purchase your own apartment, I suggest you stay at the house of a teammate. In my eyes, the best bet would be to stay with Sakura."

Naruto hung his head.

"Lord Hokage, I'd be more than happy to have Rayne stay with me, but…my parents…" Sakura trailed off. What a bad time to mention parents, but she had no other choice. There was no way that her parents were going to house another person, even if the Hokage asked them in person.

"She can stay with me," Kakashi offered. "I only have a one room apartment, but I do have an extra mattress under my bed that you can sleep on."

Naruto's head hung further.

Rayne turned and smiled at her Sensei's hospitality. "I don't want to be a bother to you, Sensei. I don't want to take up the room you barely have as it is."

"I have room in my apartment."

They all turned to Naruto.

The Hokage placed his hand on his forehead. "Naruto…is it even a sanitary living space? I recall paying a visit to your house and you had nothing but ramen and expired milk to live on."

"Maybe he just has a low budget because you give him shitty missions," Rayne growled. She hated when Naruto got insulted, which seemed to be constantly. He was the first to instantly warm up to her when she met the group, and that was something she appreciated.

"Yeah! If we had better missions, I'd get more money to support myself with! Between food and bills, I barely keep myself alive!" Naruto agreed.

His words caught Rayne's attention. "Wait…you live alone?"

His bright blue eyes connected with her bright grey ones. "The parent thing…it's just something else we have in common."

Rayne smiled. It may have sounded sick if she had told him, but she felt the fact that they had something like that only brought them closer.

_'There really is a lot that I'm going to have to learn about him…Sasuke…even Sakura. Maybe those two have their own secrets.'_ Rayne turned and looked at her other teammates. Her thoughts were then interrupted.

"Rayne, would you have any objection to living with Naruto? The only reason we are concerned is…well, not only because it wouldn't be the most sanitary environment…but (insert Naruto's anime tears/fall) wouldn't you prefer being with a female?" the Hokage questioned.

"No, not really!" Rayne hooked her arm around Naruto's neck. "You see, Lord Hokage, Naruto and I…well, we're already like brother and sister!"

And in that moment, everyone in the room had the same thought: oh dear God.


	5. Girl's Night

_"Naruto will need time to prepare his apartment for Rayne's stay; do you think your parents would protest to housing Rayne for at least one night?" The Hokage asked Sakura._

She bowed with a worried expression across her face. "N-no, Lord Hokage. We'll make her feel right at home."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A few droplets of water followed the length of Rayne's bangs all the way down until they reached the end, where they departed, plopping down into the warm tub of water she sat in. Rayne sighed as she rest her chin between her knees, curled up in the Haruno household bathtub. She closed her eyes and propped her forehead on her knees when she heard the strong male voice she had been listening to since she had arrived.

"We have no idea who this girl is, and yet the Hokage thinks he can just order us to house her? This is ridiculous! If it weren't the Hokage, I'd march down there and give the man a piece of my mind!" roared the male.

"Now honey…it's only for one night. I don't find it too troublesome at all," replied the softer, quieter voice of a woman.

"How can we be expected to trust some _stranger_ that isn't even from this village! What if she's a spy? What if she has ulterior motives? If so, then the Hokage is putting this family in danger, and I cannot respect that…"

Rayne's grip around her legs tightened as Sakura's father continued going off about the Hokage's decision to have Rayne stay at their house over night. Upon Rayne's arrival, the man had played Twenty Questions with her. Even as they sat eating dinner he continued questioning her and her life, and she only replied to those she was comfortable with, which utterly pissed the man off, for he called her disrespectful to authority.

A knock at the door shook Rayne from her thoughts.

"Rayne? I've brought you an extra comforter from downstairs. It's not too heavy, so I think it won't be too hot to sleep with," Sakura explained from the other side of the bathroom door.

Without waiting for a reply from Rayne, Sakura walked forward, down the hallway a few feet. She then turned into the open door on the left: her bedroom. She kneeled down to the floor and rest the comforter in front of her, spreading it out to further construct the bed she had made for Rayne. Considering it was the floor, Sakura wanted to make sure she had enough sheets for padding so that Rayne would be comfortable.

When Sakura heard footsteps behind her, she turned her head to see Rayne standing in the doorway, toothbrush in mouth as she ruffled her wet hair with the towel Sakura had provided her. She was wearing the same sleeping outfit she wore the previous night, her blue, grey, green boxers with a black tank top. Sakura, on a more girly note, wore fuzzy light blue booty shorts, that were a little too booty for her booty, and a skimpy white tank top that hung to her developing cleavage.

Rayne sighed as she thought about Sakura's father's words. Turning her head to the side, she yanked the toothbrush out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry if this is causing you any trouble…it isn't your fault, and your father shouldn't yell at you for it."

Sakura smiled, "I really don't mind. It'll blow over shortly…did you drain the water in the tub or did the drain stick?"

"Stuck." With Rayne's blunt reply, she twitched at the thought she couldn't overcome a simple bathtub drain. The damn thing was stuck, and even she, a female ninja, didn't have the strength to pull it out. Talk about embarrassing.

"That thing really is a pain in the ass." Sakura grumbled under her breathe as she got up and walked past Rayne, headed in the direction of the bathroom. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Toothbrush?"

"Hm?" Rayne turned in her direction. "Oh, thanks."

She handed Sakura the toothbrush, and with that, she walked off.

Rayne began looking at the first thing that had caught her eye when she stepped into Sakura's room, the kimono top that Sakura had placed on a mannequin. It had a high collar, the edges of the collar, sleeves, and the end of the shirt were designed with flames.

_'I wonder when she wears that.'_

She turned her head back toward the rest of the room. Sakura didn't have much in it; a dresser, a night stand, a full length mirror, the mannequin, a closet, and a bed, of course. Rayne stepped over to the makeshift bed that Sakura had constructed for her on the floor. A smirk came across her lips.

_'For seeming so annoying, she really is a sweetheart. She means well.'_

The ceiling light reflected off of something on Sakura's nightstand, shining right into Rayne's eye. She grimaced and closed her eyes. Once again, the light had proved to be the mortal enemy of her vision. She stepped forward to the nightstand, and the glare dissipated. What the light had been glaring off of, in fact, was a picture frame. In the frame was a picture of their team; Sakura herself, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi Sensei.

_'I guess…they've already taken their team photos,'_ Rayne thought as her fingers wrapped around the frame, gently lifting it to her so she could get a better view. Instantly she saw what Sakura had added to the picture. It was outlined in black marker on the glass; it was a heart next to Sasuke's head.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden sound of Sakura's voice scared the daylights out of Rayne, causing her to jump a foot or two in the air as her heart rate increased.

"What are you holding in your hands?"

Rayne whipped her body around, nearly giving herself whiplash. "I'M SO SORRY SAKURA! PLEASE DON'T THINK I WAS SPYING OR ANYTHING BUT I WAS JUST LOOKING AROUND YOUR ROOM AND THIS CAUGHT MY EYE SO I PICKED IT UP TO SEE WHAT IT WAS AND-"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura squealed as she dashed forward, lunging herself at Rayne as she wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her down to the floor. After she had taken her down, Sakura quickly grabbed the picture frame and hopped away from Rayne, sitting on her bed, hugging the frame tight to her chest.

A confused Rayne cautiously sat up, crossing her legs Indian style as she looked up at Sakura's back. Was Sakura worried about Rayne finding out that she had a crush on Sasuke? Why the hell would it matter?

"Sakura…I'm sorry that I was spying…I MEAN! I WASN'T SPYING! I was just-"

She shook her head, and Rayne stopped talking.

"It isn't that," Sakura began to speak as her body relaxed, detaching herself from the beloved frame, "I just…" she rapidly turned around to Rayne, "I didn't want your feelings to get hurt if you saw a picture of us as a team without you!"

Rayne frowned. Yeah, as if.

"Sakura, that really doesn't bother me at all…well, not really…I just don't want you to feel that I'm intruding on **your** team," she smirked, "**Or** Sasuke."

That hit a nerve. Rayne could tell that Sakura twitched slightly at the mention of the Uchiha.

"So you're in love with Sasuke, eh, Sakura?" Rayne said as she folded her hands behind her head as she lay on her back.

Sakura rapidly shook her head.

"Oh come on, its **way** obvious dude."

She turned slightly, "I…is it really?"

"**AHA! SO YOU DO LIKE HIM!**" Rayne shouted as she sat back up, pointing her finger at Sakura, who sat there fuming.

"WHAT?! YOU TRICKED ME YOU JERK!"

"Well I wouldn't have to try and trick you if you'd just admit it, duh!" Rayne said with a wink.

Sakura fully turned around, revealing her bright red face to Rayne.

"Fine…if you want to hear it that badly…I…I like Sasuke!"

Rayne smirked evily as she placed a finger behind her ear, pushing it forward. "I can't heaaaaar youuuuu~"

"I SAID I LIKE SASUKE!" Sakura yelled, commencing to cover her mouth after she said that; she didn't want her dad yelling at her for making so much noise at night.

"I so knew it!" Rayne laughed as she stuck her tongue out at Sakura. "Last night you were hugging your pillow as you dreamed about him; calling his name and all that shit."

Sakura blushed even more, if that was humanly possible. "Y-you heard?!"

"You're asking me if I heard? …I COULDN'T SLEEP BECAUSE OF IT!" Rayne yelled as she waved her arms up and down in the air.

"O-oh…I'm sorry…" Sakura quietly apologized, "I just…when it comes to Sasuke…"

Rayne raised an eyebrow. _'Oh would you just spit it out already?'_ She was what you would call…impatient.

"When it comes to Sasuke…I just can't help myself."

Finally. Rayne sighed, "What's so special about him anyway? The first day we met, you just went on and on about "the great Sasuke." It was Sasuke this, and Sasuke that…Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. I don't get it."

Sakura chuckled. "It's because you've just met him, Rayne! You see…Sasuke…he's really something special."

Rayne crossed her arms as she listened intently. "And how's that?"

"He was the top in our Academy. Best marks…best looks…every girl has been in love with him ever since we started the Academy when we were younger! For all these years…ever since the day I first saw him, I've been in love with Sasuke. He's just so perfect! He's calm, he takes his training and everything else seriously…he's so dark and mysterious…and he's just so **HOT**."

She went off into fangirl squealing before she could finish her explanation of why she was in love with the guy. Rayne sat there in horror as she watched the giggling ensue before her. She thought for a moment.

"How does he feel about you, Sakura?"

The giggling stopped.

"Well…whenever I ask him to do something with me, like a date or something like that…any alone time…he just shoots it down and denies me. He never wants to spend time with me…and worst of all…he called me annoying once."

_'Gee, I wonder why that was.'_ Rayne ignored her mean inner thoughts. Sakura suddenly turned around on her bed and set the picture frame back on her nightstand. She then sat, her legs dangling off the edge of the bed as she peered at Rayne.

"And what about you? What do you think of Sasuke?"

Trick question. If Rayne were to tell her that she thought he was the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on, not that she did, Sakura would probably pick her up and throw her out the window. Rayne had seen her in her state of blind rage once, and it wasn't pretty.

"Well, I really don't know much about him. I really don't know much about any of you guys really."

"His looks…what do you think of his looks."

Rayne turned her head to the right and looked at Sasuke in the picture. He had quite a pestered expression on his face, which didn't surprise her at all. He seemed to be bothered most of the time. Rayne slightly shut her eyes as she thought back to last night, well, technically this morning, when they were in the tree together…when he had pinned her down to the limb, she had gotten a good look at his face.

Suddenly she shrugged. "He's alright."

Sakura felt as though an anvil had been dropped on her head. "That's IT?!" She jumped off the bed and sat in front of Rayne. "That's ALL you have to say about him? That's he's ALRIGHT?! RAYNE! He's the HOTTEST GUY in Konoha!"

Rayne raised her eyebrow, "What do you want to hear from me then? That he's hot? Do you want to hate me for being attracted to the wonderful Sasuke; is that what you want, Sakura?"

She backed away. "No…I already lost a friend because we both were, and still are, in love with Sasuke…her name was Ino. She was my first friend, the first person that recognized me…I wanted to be like her; she was perfect! Beautiful, sense of style, everyone liked her…and then when it was revealed that we both liked Sasuke…our friendship turned into rivalry."

Rayne scoffed. "Well that's just stupid! No one should come between a good friendship, especially not some stupid guy!"

Sakura slammed her hands to the floor. "SASUKE ISN'T JUST SOME STUPID GUY! HE'S…he's special..."

"In the head," Rayne muttered. She could feel Sakura's rising blood pressure before her. "Oopsie…did I say that out loud?"

Sakura calmed herself. "You'll see. Soon enough, you'll see what I mean…you'll like him too…just like all the others."

"I really don't want to be thrown in the same category as the other girls in the village. I too am different. I'm not just some girl, Sakura."

She could tell that Sakura withdrew herself slightly when Rayne started speaking with a stern tone. Nonetheless, Rayne backed down.

"Besides, even if you do turn out to be right…even if I do turn out liking Sasuke…"

Rayne reached out and placed her hand on Sakura's arm, causing her to raise her head, her fearful eyes staring into Rayne's serene orbs.

"Even if that happens…I promise you that I'm not going to let a dick come between us…and when I say dick, I don't mean his attitude."

The two instantly started laughing with each other. Sakura lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Rayne's neck. The sudden weight of Sakura had caught Rayne off guard, causing her to fall backward to the floor. This caused them to laugh even more, until Sakura suppressed her laughing.

"Rayne?"

Rayne stopped her laughing as well when Sakura spoke.

"…thank you." Sakura's grip around Rayne's neck had tightened as she uttered those two words, and Rayne smiled as she wrapped her arms around Sakura's back.

"It'll be nice to actually have a true girl friend for once."

Rayne gave a loud "HA" to that. "I've never been friends with a girl before; too bitchy."

"Tell me about it," Sakura said, rolling her eyes and laughing a little more. They pulled away from each other and sat facing one another once more. Rayne suddenly let out a yawn she had been suppressing for quite a while.

"Well, I think that means it's time to go to bed!" Sakura said with a smile as she stood up. She climbed into her bed and pulled her sheets over her. "Are you comfortable?"

Rayne snuggled down into her makeshift bed, pulling the comforter over herself as well. She smiled up at Sakura in approval. Once she did, Sakura leaned over to her light switch and flicked it off. Rayne wiggled around for a moment and then shut her eyes, fully prepared for sleep.

"So…" Sakura began. "When will you admit it?"

Silence.

Sakura giggled.

"You know he's more than alright, Rayne."

There was an even longer period of silence between the two.

"…shut up, Sakura."


End file.
